Civilization And Savagery

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Recommended: Uses Of Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies is a well written novel about a group of boys that shows man’s descent into savagery and raises the question of civilization vs savagery. The book starts with Ralph taking control from a civil standpoint and as the story goes on, Jack slowly takes control from a more savage standpoint. William Golding uses many symbols to signify the descent of the boys from civil to savage, and how it affects them and how they react to being stranded on the island. Jack’s first reaction was to go hunting, which was a more savage standpoint, while Ralph’s first reaction was to form a sort of order amid the chaos. These initial reactions set up a chain of events that lead to the full immersion of savagery. In the first chapter, Jack is described …show more content…

The most prominent symbol of this are the pig hunts conducted by Jack and his group throughout the story. “The three boys rushed forward and Jack drew his knife again with a flourish. He raised his arm in the air. Then there was a pause, a hiatus [...]. Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers [...].”(p31) Golding added this pig chase to the book because it signifies the still present connection the boys have to their civilized sides. Jack tried to tear away, yet he is stopped dead in his tracks when he was just about to kill the pig. Jack couldn’t bring himself to kill the pig because his link to his civil counterpart was still present and fighting a losing battle against savagery. “ I was choosing a place. Next time-!”(p31) This is the first indication of savagery having an edge over civilization. Jack’s urge to kill a pig is growing stronger, which is a clear representation of savagery winning his personal battle against civilization. “ Look! We’ve killed a pig-we stole up on them-we go in a circle [...] .I cut the pig’s throat”(p69) This is the first successful pig hunt Jack and his hunters had after seeing the first pig. As he promised, Jack made sure to kill the pig this time, and in a very gruesome way. As the traces of civilization start to fade in a couple of the hunters, they grow more ecstatic about their first kill and the chance to go hunting the next day. Even though savagery is winning the battle, Jack still has a sense of civilization when he reasons with himself and Ralph that the killing of the pig was strictly for the good of the boys and so that they could finally have a reliable

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